Dreamliner Passengers Enjoy Humid Cabin, 'Whispering' Engines

Published 2:34 am, Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Kiyoko Furusho kept her moisturizer in her bag while flying on the first commercial Boeing Co. 787 flight.

"My skin usually gets very dry when flying and I have to put it on every hour or two," said the 56-year-old housewife, who flies to New York every year. "But here the air is much more humid."

All Nippon Airways Co., which operated the 787 flight to Hong Kong today, and Boeing have touted the onboard environment, wider cabin and bigger windows as key advantages for passengers from the fuel-efficient plane. A fuselage made of high-strength carbon-fiber technology also supports a higher level of cabin pressure, reducing the discomfort travelers can experience on takeoff and landing.

"My ears don't pop on this plane," said Tomoko Monjugawa, a 51-year old Tokyo office worker, who was on the first trip. "It's very comfortable and it feels good on my skin as well."

Flight NH7871 touched down in Hong Kong about 4 p.m. after a more than three hour flight from Tokyo's Narita airport. There were 240 passengers onboard, including about 90 journalists, said ANA spokesman Ryosei Nomura. The Tokyo-based carrier held a lottery among frequent flyers for the chance to buy tickets on the 264-seat aircraft and sold some in charity auctions.

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Bigger Cabins, Windows

The cabin of the 787 is 75 centimeters (30 inches) wider than a Boeing 767 and it is fitted with bigger luggage compartments and energy-saving light-emitting diode lights, according to ANA. The plane also has windows as much as 47 centimeters high and 28 centimeters wide as the composite materials are able to support larger openings than traditional airframes.

Still, struggles with the new materials contributed to Boeing delaying the aircraft's entry into service seven times since 2007. The Chicago-based planemaker was also held up by a greater reliance on subcontractors.

Monjugawa said the Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc-powered 787 was quieter than an Airbus SAS A380. The superjumbo first entered service about four years ago.

"The difference in sound between the 787 and the A380 is very noticeable on take-off," she said. "The A380 roars, while the 787's engines are just whispering."

ANA has ordered 55 Dreamliners, making it the biggest airline customer. So far, it has received two and another nine will arrive before the end of March, President Shinichiro Ito told reporters in Tokyo before takeoff. It will have 20 by the end of March 2013.

The carrier plans to introduce the aircraft on regular scheduled services on Nov. 1, beginning with flights from Tokyo's Haneda airport to Okayama and Hiroshima. Routes to China will commence in December, followed by services to Frankfurt in January.

Business-Class Seats

ANA will fit its long-haul 787s with 158 seats. The one that flew to Hong Kong had 252 seats in economy class and 12 in business. Furusho, who usually flies business class to New York, said the premium seats on today's 787 looked more cramped than on larger planes.

"The business-class seats for New York are very deluxe," she said. "I'd probably still opt to fly on bigger planes long- haul."

The airline expects the 787 to generate fuel savings of as much as 10 billion yen ($132 million) a year. The plane is 20 percent more fuel efficient than comparably sized jets because of the composites and an all-electric system that doesn't divert air from the engines for power, according to Boeing.

The planemaker had 821 Dreamliner orders at the end of last month from customers including British Airways, Japan Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. The tally included 15 from China Eastern Airlines Corp., which have now been swapped for 737s, partly because of delays.

For Yohei Konishi, a 35-year-old systems engineer who said he flies most weeks, the Dreamliner is worth the wait.

"It's really comfortable and my ears don't hurt," he said during the flight. "It would be great if I could do all my business trips on 787s."